July 20, 2012
From WNewsJournal.com
A Clinton County wildlife officer has been indicted for theft in
office and tampering with records after being investigated by the
Ohio Inspector General (OIG) for allegedly hunting deer while on
duty.
The investigation concluded that Matthew Roberts,
along with one other officer and a supervisor, were harvesting deer
for themselves while claiming they were on duty, collecting regular
pay and, in some cases, overtime pay.
...
OIG
obtained the harvest reports for the entire state of Ohio for the
2009 and 2010 hunting seasons, as well as a list of all Ohio
Department of Natural Resources employees. Comparing the list of
employees against the
2009 and 2010 harvest reports, additional
instances were discovered in which Wright and (David) Warner were
hunting during their reported work hours.
...
Overall, OIG found that Wright and Warner were hunting while on duty
in
2008, 2009, and 2010; Roberts was hunting while on duty in
2010;
...
Brown County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica
Little announced the Brown County
Grand Jury indicted Roberts
and Warner for Theft in Office and Tampering
with Records.
Warner was also indicted for Dereliction of Duty. In October
2011, Wright was fired last year at the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources
for other unrelated violations. This past May, Wright
entered a plea of
guilty to charges in a federal district court,
which included an agreement
to cooperate with future
investigations. Wright was sentenced in federal
court July 17.
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